Livestream

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Footnotes

Made during the livestream:

I want to describe a swallow on the wing as “a symphony on high”, but that is a little grandiose for the subject. It would have worked for a flight—impressive to behold—but that is not the subject of the “To a Swallow” poem.

I have now four major variations of the first verse, each with line variations of their own. These I shall further explore once the rest of the verses have also been put through this process of clarification.

There will be four verses in total at this stage of the draft, though three would be more suitable to the theme: freedom in movement.

The reason for this is that three verses tend to leave one wavering, whereas four typically resolve any tension and neatly conclude—that is to say, bring to a halt—a poem in this style.

“To a Swallow” is written in four-line stanzas in iambic trimetre, of which the line “a SYM-pho-NY on HIGH” (da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM) is an example.